Ignis Aurum Probat
by DementoFantasy
Summary: The war brought loss, it brought tragedy, but it brought them together. It chained them with an unbreakable bond, their hope, their will to save Dalmasca it tied them together. They braved the flames,they won their freedom."And so endure, believe, fight, but do not go alone. Bring others with you, have faith in them, and have faith in yourself" BalthierxOC, VaanxPenelo
1. Prologue

**A/N: PLEASE READ! IMPORTANT! Welcome! And thank you for giving this story a chance! THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH! This fic, it means a lot to me. Because I adore this game. I WANT TO GIVE A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO ALL THE FOLKS WHO HELPED WITH THIS AND PUT UP WITH MY CRAP BASICALLY!**

**AnimeLuvr12: I doubt you'll see this soon since you're busy you lucky woman you! Congratulations on the baby! May the gods smile upon you! Thank you for being the first to beta this thing, it went through drastic change since then buuut hey you helped, you put up with me so thanks :)**

**Kanarah J: Kanie? RAH RAH! Hehe...yeah well THANKS GURL! XD Your advice and editing is what helped me really turn ...well no spoilers so for now letz call her no name :D *wink* into what she is. I thank you! I thank you a lot! I hope you have time to check this out.**

**Shane McGowan Lives: I'll try to avoid smileys and various other cutesy stuff here because I'm sort of scared you'll eat me if I do...I'm kidding, you were perhaps the most serious out of all these people, you gave me the fewest but the longest replies your advice was what helped this story grow, you inspired this prologue, so thank you. I can't thank you enough and I can only hope to be as good at this as you are some day :)**

**^ May the Occuria themselves guard you for putting up with my crap ^_^**

**Adolis: Sorry hun' XD You are my current beta and all, but I did this in the order that everyone actually helped XD Still, great work on editing, you are a very helpful gal', but you've yet to experience my crap XD HE HE! Seriously now, thank you for this and all future chapters you help me with, let's hope this goes well :)**

**Anyway, to all you reader folks, I won't keep you anymore, this was necessary though :) Thank you for giving the fic a chance, please don't run because of the OC, I know people tend to do that, give her a shot 'kay? I hope I did well with presenting her here.**

**Without further ado, I don't own Final Fantasy XII, Square Enix does!**

**BEGIN!**

* * *

><p>Over the course of our lives we go through many trials and challenges; some simple, some complicated. Each brings its own reward. Every trial we overcome is a flame we have passed through, a dragon we have conquered. Dragons exist both in and out of fairy tales and merely take on different forms. We may call them however we wish. Monsters, beasts, ghosts, but in the end who is the monster? What happens when and if that monster…becomes us? What if we lose the fight? That fight against ourselves? Do we seek power? Do we seek vengeance? Do we seek to be accepted? Is that power and vengeance and acceptance what will rid us of our troubles?<p>

I was unsure at the time.

I was young, yet I had lost everything.

But I found something greater.

Coincidences do not happen, it is fate. Fate had brought us all together at the time, fate had helped each of us fight our demons.

Did we win?

Did we prove ourselves?

That is up to you to decide, and as a close friend of mine would say, is of no concern to me.

I fought my battle, she fought hers, and we all fought, for ourselves and for our home.

And now, in perhaps my final days, I write this to remind you, that you must fight. You must believe, you must endure. For the sake of yourself, and for the sake of what you believe in. Whether you fight yourself or a greater foe is not important. You will still pass through fire for this.

In the alchemic process of refining, gold is put through scorching flames as a test, a trial to see if it is truly that. Gold.

Interesting, yes?

That fire tests gold, but it also tests us.

And so endure, believe, fight, but do not go alone. Bring others with you, have faith in them, and have faith in yourself

****Fire tests Gold****

_Memoirs of Queen Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca Chapter 1: Endure_

* * *

><p>Dalmasca Estersand<p>

* * *

><p>Vaan couldn't control his giddiness. He stared at the seemingly endless desert in anticipation. The sight of miles upon miles of pristine golden sand was nothing new for the young thief, no; this was not the source of his excitement. You see Vaan was on a hunt. A hunt for the Rogue Tomato to be more specific. Now this seems like nothing to the more experienced hunter, but to Vaan this was something worth excitement. It was thrilling! Usually he was off doing simple errands for Migelo, retrieving goods or playing the messenger boy. But this, he wanted to yell so badly out of excitement that it hurt! He couldn't stop grinning. Him, on a hunt! He could barely restrain himself. These were not the things that simple sewer rats did! Whatever this Rogue Tomato was, it must be enormous was Vaan's main thought. He could feel adrenaline in his veins, his eyes scanned the area. But he saw nothing unusual.<p>

Just wolves. His shoulders slumped after 15 minutes of searching and scanning the hills. Where was it? He was becoming impatient. He frowned when he spotted a red dot on a cliff in the distance. Tomaj did mention something about it being seen there…But it seemed so small from here. Surely that was not it? He shook his head. No, it must be something far larger to be such a problem for the couriers. He told himself this, but somehow in the back of his mind he knew that was not the case.

He trekked over to the cliff; he did not run from the wolves. No, he would make the best of this chance. He would not let any of this slip away, a chance to experience the adrenaline and excitement of being a hunter, and the wolves felt like barriers protecting his primary goal. Defeating them was a step toward his dream of becoming a sky pirate. Penelo would have killed him for going out like this, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

"…OH, COME ON!" He yelled and threw his arms into the air. Before him stood something that looked like a cross between a bird and a tomato. It wiggled around as if taunting Vaan. He scowled, the disappointment he felt mixed with anger made him want to kick the thing right off the cliff and hope the wolves would eat it. It let out a cry of some sort and charged at Vaan who, lost in thought, failed to dodge and was thrown to the ground. He grunted, brushing sand from his clothes, and went to swipe at it with his sword but it dodged. He gritted his teeth, he swiped again, and this time he hit it. It staggered back for a moment before retreating to the edge of the cliff. It turned to Vaan and wiggled its tiny limbs as if to mock him again before jumping off of the cliff.

Vaan groaned. So much for kicking it over. He felt nothing but annoyed with the fiend as he went around the cliff, ducking behind a large boulder as he was too frustrated to deal with the wolves now. The sack doll with a tomato for a head stood at the bottom, wriggling around, mocking him.

He pulled out his sword and charged at it letting out a war cry. The tiny fiend seemed to anticipate this and simply dodged. The blonde thief slid to a stop and turned to see it looking a lot like it was laughing at him. He growled in frustration and, using its moment of carelessness, managed to land a deadly blow. The fiend staggered again, it let out its own growl. The Rogue Tomato opened its mouth, revealing several long sharp fangs, and blew flames at Vaan, who quickly jumped out of the way and retaliated by hitting it twice. It staggered again and attempted as a final ditch effort to ram him but he blocked and managed to throw it back, finally subduing it. He wiped his brow and sighed. He had to give it credit. It turned out to be tougher than he thought.

He turned ready to go back when something caught his eye.

"Galbana Lillies?"

Three red flowers bloomed under the cliff. He smiled, nostalgia washing over him.

_'He would have loved these…'_

He picked them up and stared at them for a moment. He brushed his fingers over the petals fondly, gently, as if they were made of glass. He felt a lump forming in his throat, but swallowed it.

"Right…time to call it a day," He declared with determination. Again he turned to leave but jumped when he felt a slight tremor in the ground. He looked around for the source and couldn't stop the gasp from escaping his lips once he saw it.

The creature was enormous, green scales covering its body, sharp rows of teeth lining its jaw. It let out a terrifying roar as it chased after an unlucky wolf.

"Now THAT's what I call a hunt! Not that stupid tomato."

Vaan could take it, he felt sure of it as he charged and let out another war cry. The Wild Saurian had indeed heard him. As Vaan got closer it turned around and roared, making him slide to a stop, it blew his hair back slightly and he shielded his eyes. Once it stopped it stared as if challenging him. Vaan stared back nervously; he had clearly not thought this through very well. He grinned at it. "Uh…nice fiend?" It roared again and chased after him, its steps echoing throughout the desert.

Vaan didn't think about where he was running, he just knew that he needed to get away from it quickly, it was much faster than it looked and running in the sand was tiring Vaan out quickly. He turned his head to see it dangerously close. It snapped its jaws at him and he barely dodged. He felt his panic rise; he was a goner, dead. Oh how Penelo would mourn his death…right after she revived him and murdered him again that is. He stared back at it, at its jaws, its teeth. All those teeth… He yelped when he collided with something and fell back, nearly landing in the mouth of the beast.

He sprung to his feet and dodged another attack from it.

"WHAT IN IVALICE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! YOU IDIOT!" Vaan turned to see a woman in the desert sands, her jaw was clenched as she glared daggers at him. He opened his mouth to reply but jumped to avoid another chomp, as the Saurian was nowhere near stopping its attacks. The woman too leapt out of the way, she held a pole in her hands and blocked an attack as the beast now directed itself at her.

"Sorry! I didn't see you!" Vaan apologized. The woman growled in a feral manner. "Your apology won't fix this! Draw your weapon and help me because this is CLEARLY your fault, you fool!"

Vaan scowled at her rudeness and drew his sword to fight. The woman took on an odd stance; she sprung from one foot to the other as if dancing.***** Vaan attacked the Saurian but it didn't even flinch. He widened his eyes at the woman, still doing her odd dance. "This is no time for dancing! You're supposed to be helping me!" He hollered, blocking another attack.

"I am not obligated to do anything for you! I could just run away and leave you to die right now as this is still YOUR FAULT YOU CRETIN! I would leave you here but I have business in this area and your corpse would attract unwanted attention," She sounded completely nonchalant as she said this. "AND THIS IS NOT DANCING! IDIOT!" Vaan's eye twitched slightly. The moment they got rid of the fiend, he would run for the hills. The woman looked like she might just attack him given the chance.

The beast directed its attention at her. It swiped its tail, attempting to knock her down. Much to Vaan's surprise, she did a back flip and then quickly sat down as it brought its tail back in an attempt to knock her out of the air.****** Still in that position, she balanced on one arm and kicked her feet out in an attempt to sweep its legs, but the beast didn't even flinch, just got angrier. A flicker of panic showed on the woman's face.

"Squawk!"

Boy, Woman, and Beast turned their attentions to the sky as a crow descended at a threatening speed; the Saurian stared at it with confusion. It launched itself at the fiend's head and pecked furiously, the beast roared, angrily snapping its jaws. Its attention was now fully on the bird who flew in the opposite direction of Vaan and the woman. The fiend followed, much to their relief.

Vaan was speechless; he could do nothing but stand there and stare at their retreating foe. Surely this was the gods playing some trick on him?

His companion had a slight smirk on her lips however.

His eye twitched. He couldn't fathom what he had just seen. He was trying to somehow explain it to himself that a random suicidal bird did not just save his life. He silently decided against even mentioning this to Penelo. If she ever even found out, he would deny any involvement beyond killing that tomato.

He was brought out of his train of thought by a swift kick to his abdomen. "Ow! What the-?"

The woman glared back at him. "The next time you want to go around angering things that are far stronger than you DO NOT GET ME INVOLVED, YOU FOOL!" She screamed at him and he winced at her tone, she was literally yelling in his ear. Still seething, she crossed her arms.

He glared at her. "Hey I apologized! I didn't mean to get you involved!"

The woman roughly punched his arm and screeched. "I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU MEANT TO DO! AND I TOLD YOU YOUR STUPID APOLOGY MEANS NOTHING TO ME!" she fumed.

He stepped back wearily. "Lady you have some serious anger issues…"

She widened her eyes and stared at him incredulously. "Anger issues? ANGER ISSUES?! I'LL SHOW YOU ANGER ISSUES YOU LITTLE WORM!" She ran after him and he yelped before running out of her (luckily short) reach. She chased after him, screaming all the while, and the desert seemed to freeze for a moment, as every wolf and Cactite stopped what they were doing to stare at the humes with a unanimous expression of confusion. Most of them thought twice about getting in the way of the insane screaming female, but those who didn't suffered the consequences.

Vaan turned his head to see the woman so close that she could reach out and grab him. Dang, she was fast! He quickened his pace but grunted when a weight on his back knocked him to the ground.

She twisted his leg in an odd direction, causing him to yelp in pain and cough and spit out inhaled sand. "LET ME GO! WHAT IN IVALICE IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" he shouted and shook his face free of some sand, but the moisture around his mouth made the worst of it stick. He would be chewing rocks for a week.

She laughed sadistically, not releasing pressure on his leg. "THAT'S FOR BLAMING YOUR STUPIDITY ON MY SUPPOSED ANGER ISSUES, YOU WORM!" He clenched his jaw from the pain, grains crunching between his teeth. He spat again and wriggled underneath her until she lost her balance and fell to the side. He quickly sprung back to his feet, but his knee buckled and he had to catch himself with his good leg before he fell again. She too struggled to stand. "YOU…You'll pay for…." She panted, trying to regain her breath. He mirrored her actions, exhausted as well, before getting as much sand into a spit wad as he could manage and spitting again at his feet. He pursed his lips and wiped his mouth on his arm.

"Ugh…freakin' sand…" he licked his lips and spat again.

"Awww," she sneered, "Did poor baby get sand in his gullet?"

"Tch! No thanks to you!" trying to at least get the mild pleasure of grossing this horrendous woman out, Vaan hocked a lugie when some sand slid onto the back of his tongue.

She exhaled loudly and rolled her eyes, finally regaining her breath. "Ugh I hate to ask but I might as well since you owe me," She said, amazingly sounding as if they were having a casual conversation.

Vaan gave her a bewildered look. "What? How can you sound so nonchalant! You just attacked me!"

She rolled her eyes again. She was calm at last but felt a spark of anger at his harsh tone. "Yes, and if you continue to provoke me I won't hesitate to do it again. Now shut up and listen. Have you seen a fiend called the Rogue Tomato around here?"

Vaan shook his head. "No way! You think I'll help you?! You just attacked me for no reason! You can't just maul people because you're angry!"

The woman clenched her jaw again. "You mean nothing to me. I don't even know you, so why would I hesitate to attack you? Now stop whining and answer me!" She seethed. Vaan opened his mouth to retort but froze.

He just realized what her question was.

There was a pause that seemed to drag on.

He grinned. "Nope, haven't seen any of those here hehe…I mean how would I even know! I don't even know what they look like! Hehe!" The woman stared him down suspiciously. She was not buying it. He panicked, a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead from her stare. She scowled. He held his breath, preparing for another chase.

She sighed and he released the breath he was holding. She had bought it.

"Of course, how foolish of me to think an idiotic boy would know where to find it."

He twitched. He coaxed himself into calming down. Any outburst now would make her angrier and he would regret it.

He allowed a smile to come to his lips, being friendly couldn't hurt now that she was calm. Right? "So anyway…I never caught your name, I'm Vaan." He introduced himself with a cheerful tone.

It was her turn to look bewildered. "My my how foolish are you exactly?" He raised an eyebrow at her, about to retort, but she cut him off, "Giving away your name so easily! And you're even more foolish to think that I would give you mine." She declared and walked away from him.

His mouth fell agape at her retreating form.

Apparently it could hurt.

* * *

><p><strong>*What she's doing here is Capoeira, a Brazillian (Rozarrian in this case) martial art that resembles dancing.<strong>  
><strong>**This move is basically called the negativa, it usually means being in a squatting position and raising your arm for defense, but it is used for dodging so it can be manipulated.<strong>

**A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed that, you may be reading and thinking look at her OC doing backflips, believe me when I say I don't know how good the entire fic is, or my writing one thing I do know for sure after many tests and reviews is that she who shall remain unnamed for the moment is not a Mary Sue, I promise. But you'll see for yourselves soon, thank you in advance if you give this a chance (did that rhyme?) And please, read and review! Really! Criticize! I love that! Just don't flame? There's a line between those two, as long as you provide advice and don't just insult me and the story it's fine :)But I love a good critique! Oh and I don't celebrate it at the same time but MERRY CHRISTMAS! TO ALL OF YOU FOLKS WHO DO!**

**READ AND REVIEW!**


	2. Volatilia ad sibi similia conveniunt

**A/N: So, this is a bit of a fast update, but after this it will go a lot slower. Thanks Tonights the night, ya' really gave some good advice ^_^ I appreaciate that as I've told you. Oh, and if you haven't figured it out the name of the chapter is "Birds of a feather flock together" in latin...yes yes so creative XD I won't dilly dally now so I don't own Final Fantasy XII, but I do own my OC.**

* * *

><p><strong>Dalmasca, Streets of Rabanastre<strong>

* * *

><p>The city of Rabanastre, nestled in the heart of Dalmasca is home to many races. Hume, Bangaa, Seeq, Moogle and Viera all call this city their home and live together in peace. It is also a city with a vast history, and beauty rivaled only by that of other royal cities within the borders of Ivalice.<p>

That is, it used to be.

Things had changed drastically in the past two years. The city, bluntly speaking, had lost the shine that had made it a prime destination for seekers of a new life. With the Imperial soldiers constantly roaming the streets, the Dalmascan capital was becoming more and more like Archades.

Rabanastre had lost the warmth it once possessed while under the rule of King Raminas. Fewer people were coming to the city. Even the citizens who had called this place their home were beginning to leave in droves.

Today was also no ordinary day back in the royal city of Dalmasca. The new Consul would soon arrive, and there was to be a parade in the streets. Additionally, a feast was being organized for later that evening, where invited guests would dine within the confines of the whimsical-looking castle. It was to be a grand event indeed. A large crowd had formed in front of the royal palace, all curious and eager to spot a glimpse of the new Consul and his entourage. While the excitement of the new man in power left some with hopes of a better future, others hoped that he would lose interest in the city and leave before he had a chance to settle into his new position.

Our story begins after the parade, where three separate parties hatched three similar plans with varying goals and intentions...

* * *

><p>"Vaan?" The blond boy was snapped out of his daydreams by the voice of his childhood friend. Penelo shook her head, "You haven't heard a word I've said, have you?" He opened his mouth to reply, but was instead knocked backwards as a figure clad in a black cloak brushed hurriedly past him.<p>

"Hey, watch where you're-" Vaan snapped before being interrupted by a wolf, large for its species, trampling over him as it followed its apparent owner. Vaan stared with wide eyes, as the wolf's fur had a bluish tint. Penelo pulled Vaan to her side by the panel of his vest just as a group of Imperials rushed past them in pursuit of the two strangers.

The two orphans stood still, staring with their mouths agape. Vaan glanced over at his friend. "You think that was..?"

Penelo nodded, a broad grin on her innocent features. "Raven! Yeah! You know any other girl robbing Imperials with a wolf by her side?"

Vaan shook his head and gave her a funny look. "Wait? Girl?! Come on Penelo! You really think Raven is a girl?" The girl huffed in annoyance and folded her arms as she threw him a glare. "Oh? And why couldn't it be a girl?"

The thief scratched the back of his head, "W-well… Uhm… Uh…"

The girl face-palmed, "Ugh!"

Vaan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you know what? Let's make a bet out of it." Penelo smirked at him, "Gambling now, are we, Vaan?"

The boy rolled his eyes again. "Alright, but the satisfaction of being right will be reward enough for me."

His childhood friend laughed at his statement, but the blond boy continued. "And if I win, I get to name our airship!"

Penelo would have told him to stop his fantasizing for once, but she couldn't. She enjoyed watching him gush happily over airships and whatnot. She said nothing and instead smiled as Vaan ranted about the various names he could give to the vessel that he had been dreaming about for so long.

* * *

><p>"Get them!"<p>

The sound of feet slapping against the pavement echoed through the northern part of Rabanastre. The group of Imperials yelled various curses and taunts as they chased the black-clad figure. The thief looked back at the Imperials and quickened their pace, not looking forward in time to keep from colliding with two Viera who threw dirty looks in response. The wolf collided with the group as well, this time sending them sprawling to the ground. Surprised, the wolf looked back over its shoulder at the mess it caused.

"Iggy, do something!" The figure exclaimed, their heart racing wildly. The wolf halted to a stop and turned on a dime, now facing the group of Imperials closing in. A look of determination flashed in the wolf's yellowish eyes as the Imperials readied their weapons. Its fur rose and it bared its teeth, trying its best to look threatening. The beast growled lowly, daring the armed Imperials to attack.

One of the soldiers rushed forward, weapon raised and ready. "Stand where you are!" he took a look at the wolf and blinked, "Uhm…Uh…Oh, bloody hell! Let's just kill the thing and be done with it!" They all stared the animal down as it stood frozen in place before lowering various swords and spears at the wolf.

Suddenly a loud squawking noise came from behind them, causing them to turn and see a small black crow flying straight toward them at a menacing speed.

"What in blazes..?" An Imperial choked out as they stood there in confusion.

"Sergeant Crow prepared for landing!" The bird made an arrow-like formation with its wings and body, aiming straight for the soldier who had just spoken, something similar to a smirk seemed to be etched on the little avian's beak.

"Squawkadoodle doo!" The crow descended upon the soldier's head and furiously pecked and scratched at his helmet. "What…Bloody…Ugh…Get this thing off of me!" He flailed his arms around, trying to swat the crow away, but the bird avoided him each time. By the time the soldier's comrades had sprung into action, the crazy bird had fled and so had its two companions.

"Damned bird!" The Imperial shouted as he removed his helmet and spat out a mouthful of black feathers. His pride was even more insulted when he realized that a crowd had gathered, and they were all doubled over with laughter. "What are you lot staring at? Get back to your business before I ship you all away to Nalbina!" A hint of embarrassment was eminent in his voice despite his furious demeanor.

* * *

><p>"That was too close," The figure huffed. They leaned their head on a nearby wall and removed their hood, revealing that she was indeed a girl. She parted her thin lips, attempting to regain her breath. Her hair had become moist from perspiration, but the hot, dry air surrounding Rabanastre quickly wicked the moisture away, cooling her off. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to rest.<p>

"Don't blame me! I saved ya' both!" The valiant bird exclaimed as he landed on the girl's shoulder with a proud look. She opened her eyes and smiled a tad too sweetly before swatting at him, but he dodged the blow.

"Hey, bird abuse!"

The girl huffed, "There is no need for you to be so arrogant, Crow." She scowled at him and folded her arms.

"Spare me your mistreatment, Zoellyn!"

The girl rolled her eyes at the bird's antics.

"I could have died out there." He proceeded to exclaim as he demonstrated his previous encounter in a dramatic fashion, "My life flashed before my eyes as I came face to face with that solder!" He waved his wings around, gesturing wildly.

Zoellyn snorted in an entirely unladylike manner and rolled her eyes, "Don't you think calling them soldiers is a bit farfetched?"

The wolf whimpered slightly and nuzzled against Zoellyn's leg. She smiled warmly at it before Crow scolded, "And you! Was standing there glued to one spot supposed to help? Huh? Ignazeus!" The wolf snapped its jaws at the bird angrily. Zoellyn swatted at him again, this time successfully smacking him into the wall.

"Lay off Iggy!" She snapped at the bird before pulling the wolf into a warm embrace and turning her attention back to Crow. The wolf seemed to bear a smug expression on his face. "He was helping. He was in much more danger than you were anyway."

Crow shook his head in an attempt to get his ruffled feathers back into place. "Save it, Zoe. You treat Bingo here like he's some kind of hero." Crow seemed to sneer at Iggy, who became even more smug.

The girl scowled again and folded her arms. Crow turned away from her and huffed. Zoellyn sighed in response and rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright... Thank you, Crow."

He blinked for a moment as he tried to process her words. He laughed loudly, and flew into her face, startling her. "Could it be?! Zoellyn thanked someone! I'm sure it will rain Moogles today or something! Hahaha!" He continued to laugh loudly while flying around her head.

Zoellyn scoffed, "Don't push it." She shed her cloak, revealing a simple outfit. Her olive green pants had one pant leg ripped, and a make-shift bandage of the same color was on her exposed knee. Her midriff was slightly exposed in the black sleeveless crop top she wore due to the heat. The top looked less than flattering on her boyish figure, but her lean body was well defined, particularly her legs.

Zoe folded the cloak and placed it in Iggy's open jaws. "Take it back to our hideout." The wolf bowed its head as if nodding, and padded away in the direction of their hideout in Lowtown.

The bird stopped laughing all of a sudden and gazed at Zoellyn with a worried look. "Look, Zoe… back to what I was saying before you decided to try and swipe a bracelet-"

"He stole that and you know it."

"Whatever. You haven't slept in, what, two days now? And-"

Zoe scoffed, glaring at Crow. "Are you implying that I can't handle myself, Crow?"

The bird flinched at her harshness, but knew better than to back down. He perched himself on her shoulder. "Listen to me for once, Zoe! I'm worried about you! I think you could go for a rest."

The stubborn girl shook her head. "Your concern is not necessary," She began, "May I remind you that I can very well take care of myself?!" She rubbed her bandaged arms, and the bird glared darkly at her.

"Zoellyn, you can't stop sleeping because of some stupid dream!" He sounded dead serious for once.

Zoe turned her gaze away and frowned sadly. She seemed hesitant, her icy blue eyes looking at anything but her companion. "Look," she started, "you know you're one of the few people who.." Zoellyn paused for a moment and shook her head. "I can't sleep, Crow. I just.… Those nightmares… No..." She trailed off her voice, lowering to a whisper. She shivered at the thought of the things that haunted her dreams. She rubbed her arms again as if trying to comfort herself.

The avian sighed.

"Well, what do you plan on doing Miss Smarty Pants? You can't avoid sleep for the rest of your life you know."

Her shoulders slumped slightly at his words. She chewed on her bottom lip absentmindedly.

"You can't keep blocking this out. It's your past, you need to face it."

Zoellyn shook her head. "I know…but not now."

Crow sighed, it was pointless to attempt to reason with her on this. So he decided to change the subject. "Well, all that running and we didn't even steal anything." His voice was full of disappointment.

Zoe turned her gaze toward him and smirked slightly, pleased with the subject change. "Well, sure. But we did get some valuable information that is sure to lead us to something far greater than a few pieces of Gil." Their previous conversation was promptly left in the past.

Crow shook his head, a wary look in his black eyes. "Oh, no, I know that look!"

Zoe's smirk widened. Her eyes sparkled with mischief.

"The fete will be a perfect opportunity to break into the palace treasury," She said, excitedly thinking of all the riches they could find.

The bird flapped his wings, and Zoe grimaced. "No! No way! You can't keep overworking yourself! It's mad-"

Her eyes widened slightly. She scowled at him. He flinched realizing what he had almost said. "What, Crow? Go on! Say it then! Out with it!" She demanded.

Crow hung his head in defeat. "You know I didn't mean it like that…" Remorse filled his voice.

Zoellyn growled lowly, her teeth clenched. "All I know is what you wanted to say! Forget it! You are not obligated to come with me. No one is! I'm perfectly fine on my own!" She brushed the bird off and started walking out of the alleyway.

"Zoe, wait! Zoe!" She turned back to Crow, gritting her teeth.

"Shut it!"

Crow shook his head at her. "You are most certainly not fine on your own! Please Zoe, you know I care about ya'! You've always had my back, so I want to make sure I have yours." He pleaded.

Her gaze softened, remembering all the times they truly needed each other. Her expression looked nostalgic for a moment. She sighed and shook her head. She wanted to be angry with him, and if he were anyone else she would, but the pleading look in his eyes made her heart ache with guilt. "I…sorry… I know you mean well. You're one of the few who do."

Crow looked a lot like he was smiling. "That's it, kiddo!" Zoe returned the smile, though it did not reach her eyes. "Could we just go? I have to go to work soon." She muttered

The bird nodded. "Okay, okay. I'm gonna go check on Iggy. I'll be around if ya' need me." He flew off in a random direction, leaving the girl to her own thoughts at last. Immediately, in the still of the silence, one word echoed in her ears.

Madness.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So this is the formal introduction for Zoellyn, I would love feedback on her and the chapter, as for Vaan and Penelo, I do try to not portray Vaan as an idiot like most do, but his naive and impulsive nature are very good for humor. So forgive me for that, also this was originally the prologue, but the previous one seemed better ^_^**

**I would really like feedback on this, as a friend of mine would say reviews are the aphrodisiac of authors. So please, drop one? *winks***

In other words...READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!


	3. Per flammas, Congelata

**A/N: Thank you for the few lovely reviews! The name of the chapter means literally "Bye flames, frozen"I don't own FFXII or it's characters :) **

* * *

><p><strong>The Royal Palace of Rabanastre<strong>

The outside of the palace was heavily guarded and soldiers marched left and right, ensuring the safety of the Consul and his guests, yet they seemed oddly more relaxed tonight than to be expected. However, that created a perfect opportunity for swindling something precious from the palace treasury. And that in turn had attracted all manner of thieves into the woodwork; only what no one knew at the time was that one chance meeting among three of the thieving parties would escalate into something much larger.

Zoe pulled her hood up and crouched. She and her companions had managed to sneak into the courtyard, though that was largely due to one of the guards being half asleep. Zoe scoffed mentally. 'Fools. How did they even get into the army?' The trio of trespassers were now crouched in some bushes behind a large decorative tree. Iggy stood beside her, his ears twitching occasionally in acknowledgment any suspicious sound. Crow was perched on Zoe's shoulder per usual.

"So how do you plan on getting in?" He whispered, tilting his head to the side and glancing at Zoe with a beady black eye.

"No clue." She replied flatly, her gaze never leaving the guards patrolling at the entrance.

Crow however did not take this lightly. "WHAT?!" He squawked none too quietly. Zoe growled and smacked him into the ground. She glared at him.

"Quiet you idiot! Do you want us to get caught?!" She whispered harshly. It was an understatement to say that Crow saw stars; he saw circles and stars and squares, as well as occasional flashes of color and blackish blurs from the slight concussion she had given him. He staggered like a drunken man and flapped his wings in a vain attempt to gain balance. He shook his head and stood straight.

Iggy seemed to snicker at his predicament. To Zoe's ears, Iggy growled softly, but Crow could easily make out the snide, 'Haha! Stupid bird.'

"Shut up mutt!" This earned him another whack from Zoe.

"Ow! What the heck was that for?!"

"Don't call Iggy a mutt." She responded flatly still focused on the guards.

Crow scoffed. "Whatever! Listen, how about I fly over there and cause a distraction?" Zoe glanced at him briefly to let him know he had her attention.

A slight smirk formed on her lips at the thought of the chaos he would cause. "Go ahead then." Crow threw a smug look at Iggy, he glanced to see that Zoe was still distracted, and stuck his tongue out at the wolf, who glared in return. His victory was short lived once he was kissing the ground again.

"Zoe!" He whined and shook dirt free from his beak and wings.

"That was for acting like a fool." She replied in the same flat tone. "Now go!" She urged in a harsher tone. Crow rolled his eyes and flew toward the sky to get a better look at the situation first.

Zoe glanced at him briefly. Her gaze turned to Iggy whose fur had risen all of a sudden. His ears perked up and he growled slightly. She stiffened. His stance meant nothing good. Her eyes darted around for anything suspicious. She narrowed her eyes when something breezed past the guards with a swoosh. She could faintly make out a pair of hare ears and a blue glow.

"That can't be good…" She muttered mostly to herself. But Iggy seemed to agree, as his growl deepened.

Meanwhile Crow silently laughed to himself as he watched the guards patrol below him. "Oh poor unfortunate souls, how blissfully unaware of the chaos that is about to befall you." He blinked, surprised by his own words. "Man, those novels Zoe reads are starting to rub off on me…" He muttered gliding toward the guards. He looked smug when his eyes landed on the same Imperial he had given a nice pecking to earlier that day. "Well, won't he be glad to see me." He laughed to himself. "SQUAWK!" He exclaimed, gaining the attention of the guards, especially the one. The aforementioned guard looked startled. "Wha-? It's that bloody bird again!" He yelled pointing at Crow who in turn laughed loudly. "Aww! Nice to see you too buddy! Did ya' miss me?" A couple of girly shrieks echoed through the courtyard at the sound of Crow's voice, along with a couple of 'it can talks' and a single 'DEMON BIRD!'. The avian roared with laughter as he again aimed for his favorite Imperial.

"Time for a hug sweets!" Crow again pecked at the Imperials head, occasionally dodging a swipe of his hand.

The Imperial under assault flailed uselessly against his feathered foe, "..Wha-…Why are you all standing there? GET THIS DAMNED THING OFF ME HEAD!" He yelled. They all seemed to snap out of their shock and sprung into action. Crow flew a bit above them and proceeded to lead them away from the entrance.

Zoe took this as her chance; she and Iggy remained behind the various decorative plants and ornaments until they reached a row of columns lining the entrance. They hid behind one and Zoe took a moment to enjoy the chaos. She grinned. "Imbeciles." Iggy nudged her with his snout to gain her attention and gestured toward a window with his head. She smiled and scratched his ear while he happily leaned into her touch, but she quickly removed her hand to Iggy's disappointment. She placed her hands on the window and glanced back at Crow and the Imperials once more to sate her paranoia. She grunted a bit as she struggled to open the window by herself, but managed to push it open just enough for her to squeeze in, and Iggy and Crow to follow. For once she thanked the gods for being so short.

Ignazeus wandered around the new area, taking in the long hallway decorated with various golden ornaments and doubtlessly expensive paintings. One in particular caught Zoe's interest.

A woman dressed in an elegant peach gown with loose sleeves smiled pleasantly, her eyes sparkling slightly as if reflecting her joy. Her short, sandy blonde hair was cropped at the shoulders and looked perfect, with not a hair out of place.

Zoe scowled bitterly and regarded a piece of her own raven black hair. 'Stupid imperfect hair…' She thought, feeling jealous of the beauty in the painting.

She scoffed feeling the sudden urge to slap herself. 'How pathetic of me, as If I have a reason to care about appearance.'

Iggy cocked his head at her strange behavior. She had been making faces at the portrait for the past minute. The wolf felt a bit worried for his owner…

She sighed and narrowed her eyes at the name under the portrait.

'Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca'

"So this is our late princess…"

Iggy replied with a whimper and a twitch of his ear. 'She's so pretty…'He said.

Zoe felt scared of the portrait; it made her feel unworthy of its presence, like she was a subordinate. Ashelia was in every way more beautiful and perfect than Zoe could hope to be. She was probably ten times the woman than Zoe would ever dream to be, and Zoe was older!

She sighed again. "Tragic….would it have been different had she remained?" Her voice softened, she sounded distant, as if pondering something entirely different.

Iggy regarded her for a moment before his ears twitched. He sniffed the air and grimaced. His companion drew her eyes from the portrait, noticing his distress. "What's wrong?"

A loud 'squawk' was their answer, they both turned to the open window in time to see Crow fly in with smoke trailing behind him, he slammed head first into a wall and flew in a circle for a moment, he flew around screaming his lungs out. "Help! Soldier down! Soldier down! I'm hit! Goodbye cruel world!" Zoellyn's jaw clenched at his theatrics. She grabbed him by the wing and winced as she extinguished the small flame on his tail with a shaky hand, she glared at him. Crow, still preoccupied by his performance had gone limp in her hand, succumbing to his 'faith'.

The girl frowned and dropped him, he remained limp on the ground however, her scowl deepened and she raised an eyebrow as if challenging him not to get up.

"Well I suppose I shall dispose of this useless bird now, no need to carry around his rotting corpse. Iggy would you be so kind-"

She jumped in surprise when Crow suddenly sprung into the air.

"NO! NO I'M FINE SEE! I'M ALIVE! IT'S A MIRACLE ZOE!" He yelled, flapping his wings faster for emphasis.

She smirked, pleased with herself, it returned to a scowl in the next moment. "What have you done now?" She demanded with no hint of regret at her harsh words.

Crow didn't even attempt to question her. This was their relationship, it may not seem like it to an onlooker, but they both cared for each other to a surprising extent.

"I don't know! One second I was leading those dumb Imperials like cockatrice to a wolf, and the next the sky is on fire! And then there's the explosions, and this lady in a miniskirt and the running around and-"

She stopped him with a glare. He clamped his beak shut and grinned, that was quite enough.

All three yelped when a light tremor shook the entire palace, without a word Zoe ran up a flight of stairs and Crow and Iggy followed. Crow silently prayed that for once she knew where she was going…

The girl looked behind her to check if her companions had followed. She turned back forward and gasped, unable to stop herself before colliding with something. Iggy quickly positioned himself behind her to break her fall. She shook her head and moaned in pain, "The hell…?" 'I really need to stop doing that.' Her vision was blurry and unfocused; but she could faintly make out a familiar set of blonde hair and blue eyes.

Vaan's eyes widened at recognizing both the Raven and as he assumed 'his' companions. He shook his head and unfortunately had no time to get reacquainted with his hero. He dashed up the next flight of stairs, ignoring 'him' and not wanting to be near when 'he' cleared 'his' head.

Zoe shook her head; her vision had refocused just as the one who knocked her down had vanished. She glared at the spot where he or she had stood. 'If I get my hands on whoever that fool was…' She was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of metal clanging in the distance; she pulled herself off of Iggy and rushed toward the stairs, when out of nowhere a man darting in the same direction nearly knocked her over a second time.

Before she could collide with him she grinned like a madwoman and shoved him to the ground. She ran upstairs, laughing maniacally and yelling something along the lines of 'Not today bastard!'

Balthier stared at the retreating woman with wide eyes. He blinked, and tried to process what had just happened, few things left Balthier Bunansa bewildered, after all he was a sky pirate, he had experienced his fair share of oddities, this had managed to pique his curiosity. He shook his head, stood, and bounded up the stairs.

Iggy turned his head and slid to a stop when he realized that Zoellyn was not behind them. Crow stopped as well. "Zoe?" He hollered as loud as he could over the explosions in the background.

Shuffling was heard and Zoe soon came into view. "I'm fine. Had a minor issue but it was resolved." She replied simply and fell into step with them. All three soon found themselves on a small roof. Zoe's eyes widened, fear shining through them as she silently gaped at all the flames.

It was as if another war was raging on; the sky was painted red with flames from the various explosives the airships were dropping.

The noirette struggled to stop, all of a sudden she had lost her vicious exterior and she resembled a frightened lamb, staring at the sky, her mind was clouded with fear, she failed to realize that she was heading straight for the edge of the roof. She screeched and flailed her arms in a vain attempt to regain her balance. Iggy dashed to her rescue but the arm that wrapped around the small girl's waist stopped the wolf in his tracks.

"You really are more trouble than you're worth aren't you? Was pushing me down imperative in your little dash for freedom?" Someone spoke, a hint of annoyance touching his otherwise arrogant tone. Zoe blinked her eyes open and froze, the flames were a problem, but not the biggest one as of now.

This was surely not Iggy holding her up.

It was the same man that had almost knocked her down the second time.

It was a stranger touching her for some reason.

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" She screeched and punched Balthier's jaw.

Zoellyn was if anything a prude.

The sky pirate was again caught off guard by this woman's reactions and held his throbbing jaw in pain with his free hand. "Damned bloody woman…" He muttered, "I've half the mind to let you drop." He pulled Zoe off of the edge and crossed his arms as she stormed past him with no word of thanks to be mentioned.

Ignazeus glanced over at Balthier, unsure whether to threaten or thank Zoe's hated rescuer, before simply following Zoe.

Crow looked at the sky pirate sympathetically, knowing all to well the force behind Zoe's punches, "You poor, poor bastard…" He muttered, following Zoe and Iggy.

Zoe ran a few steps then froze again, she watched as one of the smaller airships became engulfed by flames. She trembled, her mouth suddenly became dry, her knees buckled and she almost fell to the ground, but Iggy held her up, the wolf pushed her legs with his large snout. **_'Come on mistress!' _**But she remained still, her eyes had begun to water and she felt sick to her stomach.

_'Fire..._

'_Fire..._

'NO!'

Iggy let out something akin to a bark and rammed himself into Zoe, who staggered a bit, she blinked trying to regain her composure, she gagged resisting the urge to vomit. Crow grabbed her hood with his talons and flapped his wings in a vain attempt to make her move. Iggy growled, he decided to take matters into his own paws. Again he ran toward Zoe, only this time he knocked her into the air making her land on his back, his paws trembled a bit from the new weight, had she been any heavier he would have fallen. He mustered up the strength to move and just as he had fallen into step with Vaan a tremour shook the palace and all but Crow and Balthier were sent to the ground.

Zoe moaned in pain, she shook her head finally snapping out of her trance. "Iggy..." She whispered sympathetically as she gazed at her fallen companion. She crawled over to the wolf and stroked his head affectionately, he whimpered in response, his legs trembled as he stood, he nuzzled Zoe as if to accept her unspoken apology.

"The Ifrit eh?," Balthier noted. Impeccable timing. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were waiting all along." He regarded the airship hovering above them, he clicked his tongue and staggered from yet another explosion that shook the building, he covered his eyes from the smoke and squinted to see both Vaan and Zoe attempting to flee again.

Vaan glanced at Zoe a light grin came to his lips. Throughout all the trouble he was in he still found a moment to be happy that he was running side by side with his hero, even if there was a slight chance of all of them dying. "Stop running!" Balthier exclaimed, his irritation beginning to show. Zoe sprinted past Vaan much to his surprise, but staggered back when a hover operated by a dark-skinned Viera blocked her path. Zoe gazed at her with admiration. She had seen Viera, but somehow she felt, she knew this one was in no way like the others, and that left her in awe.

Fran looked at the newcomer and her strange choice of companions with curiosity for a moment before returning her gaze to the blonde thief-boy. She glared at him, clearly saying that he would not get past her.

"End of the line." Balthier spoke from behind them. "You have something that belongs to me." He spoke with a manner of confidence that impressed Vaan, and disgusted Zoe. He extended his hand and gestured toward himself with his fingers.

Zoe's eyes darted around, looking for any possible escape route. She again turned her attention to the flames, she was thrown into a panicked flurry as her eyes darted from the sky to looking for a way to flee. Iggy growled in an attempt to drive Fran off. The Viera raised an elegant eyebrow at the animal's behavior. There was a light up turn to her lips, such loyalty from a wolf.

The clatter of imperial footsteps could be heard from behind all of them. "More this way!"

Balthier clicked his tongue and scowled at the approaching guards. "Damn!" He cursed.

At the same time Zoe had located the perfect escape route…in her book at least.

"ZOE, NO!" Crow yelped.

But it was too late. The girl had already dashed toward the wall.

"Fran! Let's move!" Balthier sprinted toward Vaan and slung him over his shoulder as if he weighed nothing. As he was about to grab Zoe, as he felt a tinge of guilt at the thought of letting her get arrested, even though she deserved it, she shouldered past him and dove over the wall. Iggy skidded to a stop and whimpered, too scared to follow, and Crow cursed at Zoe's recklessness as the girl became separated from them. Balthier growled; his patience with this girl was lost. He vaulted off of the wall."Off with you!" Vaan screamed as he flew through the air, Balthier took it silently, invoking more admiration from the boy. Fran had shown up just in time to catch Zoe, Vaan, and Balthier, much to Zoellyn and Vaan's surprise.

Balthier landed in his seat directly in front of where Zoe had landed, dangling Vaan in the air like a ragdoll much to the blond's annoyance. This put Zoe right between the pirate's legs and in utter shock of her own luck.

"Joy riding now, are we?!" Balthier hissed at her. Zoe growled in a feral manner in return before quickly scooting away from her position.

"Let go of me!" Vaan demanded. Zoe could not believe his words and stupidity. He wanted to fall?

"Keep this up and I will!" Balthier retorted, his anger evident. He was a fairly patient man, but these two had crossed the line.

The hover began swerving slightly and Fran grunted as she struggled to control it.

"What's going on Fran?" Balthier asked, still irked but using a much gentler tone with the Viera.

"I don't know! It's not heeding me!" Fran replied with frustration in her tone.

"I don't have time for this…" Balthier growled struggling to hold Vaan up.

"Get in line…" Zoe muttered dryly. Balthier heard her and contemplated throwing her off for a moment.

Another explosion erupted near them. Everyone on board the hover yelled as the machine began to plummet.

Zoe silently prayed that Iggy and Crow were alright before she and the rest of the party lost consciousness upon colliding with the ground.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thank you for reading! Thank you my wonderful beta Adolis! Read and REVIEW! I'd like to hear your opinions, and it always gives me a nice kick of inspiration to read them :)**


	4. Scintilla qui ignem succenderit

The first thing Vaan felt was an odor akin to the smell of filthy Chocobo stalls in Dalmasca penetrating his nostrils. He grimaced and turned his head, still not fully awake; he faced the floor and took a sharp intake of breath. He gasped as liquid entered his nose and he started coughing and gagging. The bitter, filthy sewer water was in no way pleasant for the senses; he screwed his face in disdain at the salty aftertaste it left. Vaan shivered, feeling the consequences of sitting bare-armed in ice cold water. In the least he was fully awake.

A throaty chuckle was heard from his side. "Are you done playing connoisseur with the sewer water?" Balthier mocked, his voice a bit hoarse. The sky pirate cleared his throat as if to cover up the tone.

Vaan merely rolled his eyes at Balthier's jab and rose to a kneeling position. He pressed his hand to an adjacent wall in an attempt to steady himself, he could feel the curves of the numerous patterns decorating the wall beneath his palms. Even a place with moss covering its concrete floor and walls possessed some appeal. There was much more to this simple sewer than it seemed, sadly a long time would pass until Vaan learned of its many secrets.

"Our hover didn't just drop, it disappeared." Vaan's head snapped to Balthier's side where Fran was examining the wreckage that used to be their hover. The boy silently gaped at the kneeling Viera, his gaze trained on the long ears protruding from her skull, the fur covering them seemed soft as silk and he chastised himself for getting the urge to reach out and touch it. He could not help himself. Being close to something so new and pristine yet not being able to touch it left him with a sense of ravenous curiosity and excitement.

"Not many Viera where you come from thief?" Balthier spoke with contempt, snapping Vaan out of his reverie. The blond's brow creased in a woeful attempt at a glare; he managed to look either constipated or perhaps endearing for his attempt to his onlookers.

"It's Vaan." He spat, still trying his best to sound and look hostile. Balthier snorted in response, a smirk playing at his lips. Vaan turned his attention back to Fran, they stood up simultaneously. He bowed his head looking very much ashamed by his actions. Fran remained silent, studying him. "Sorry," he muttered quickly. She gave a curt nod and he thought she did not accept it at first, but the light upturn of her lips told him otherwise.

Balthier looked from one to the other and his smirk widened. "Well." He drawled, his gaze settling on the Viera. "Fran is special in that she'd deign to partner with a hume." Vaan's brow furrowed at the sound of the word "deign". Being a street thief did not give room for a very sophisticated vocabulary. Penelo often berated him for it; his childhood friend had the habit of often shoving books in his face. Vaan had nothing against literature, but Penelo's taste were mainly romance novels, not even close to Vaan's idea of interesting. He most certainly did not want another glimpse at the "Sunset" saga she idolized. Whether she did it to truly help with his vocabulary or just to distract him from thieving and putting himself in danger remained up for debate.

Fran's response to Balthier's apparent jab, (judging by the eye roll that followed the comment) went unnoticed by Vaan. His train of thought stopped only because Balthier was addressing him again.

"-Vaan, if you ever want to see your home again you'll do exactly as I say." Vaan frowned lightly at this. He wasn't very excited by the idea of following someone's orders, but at least he would get to tell Penelo (in a very exaggerated way) of his journey through the dangerous waterway with two sky pirates.

Two? Or was it three…

"Myself, Fran and you, we-," He stopped. They seemed to be having similar thoughts.

A loud groan echoed beside Vaan, he shrieked and jumped back startled by the sudden noise. He had already been fidgety because of the occasional fiend's call echoing through the damp, empty tunnels, and had momentarily mistaken the groan for a monster that had snuck up on the group.

* * *

><p>Zoe attempted to lift her arm and feel her throbbing head but found herself weighted down, she pushed her body upwards harder and growled. Her frigid blue eyes snapped open, but she saw nothing. She glared at the darkness in front of her before she hissed, something sharp had pierced her skin. She scowled at her own stupidity, touching the cold and jagged ends of the rocks and debris surrounding her. The girl sneered at herself. Small enough to fit under a pile of rubble was she? She narrowed her eyes at the darkness in front of her again and pushed away from the moist ground with the little might she possessed in her body.<p>

A loud shriek echoed in her ears, adding to the dizziness she felt after trying to move. "Shut up!" She hissed at the shrill voice and held her head in pain. Relief washed over her as she noted that her hood was still inexplicably on her head, perhaps it helped that it was so large it concealed most of her face. Sometimes it was a bit of a disadvantage, as it would block her vision, but it served its intended purpose, and that was to conceal and isolate her from the rest of the world.

She scowled, feeling liquid slide down her forehead, the gazes of the gaping thief, smug sky pirate, and calculating Viera were yet to go noticed by her.

"Ah, there's our little joy riding minx." Balthier noted, Zoe attempted to focus her vision on him but it still remained blurry, she did manage to grimace in disgust at his referring to her as a minx. She knew his type, lurking in the shadows gives a good opportunity to study people, she thought of herself as a good judge of character.

She was painfully wrong...and yet...

Whether her judgment was right or wrong she did not care, she was far too proud to admit that she was often wrong about others. The same went for her judge of Balthier.

She dreaded his kind, stuffed shirt swaggering peacocks who went around thinking they could shoot a dashing smile and the world would be at their feet, and that every woman would jump at the chance to crawl into their beds.

Not that she was at all familiar with the subject of intercourse and the ways of romance. She still felt it justified to judge.

Ignorance is bliss.

The blond blur closer to her shifted at Balthier's jab and a muddled sound floated by her ear. Her head throbbed again and she managed to catch something about a different path? Followed by a loud string of curses and shouting from the sky pirate.

Her hearing cleared once more and she heard the sky pirate chastising the blond one, "And furthermore, I don't even wish to discuss my reputation with a child like you, you're bound to hear it from someone else anyway, I don't care to repeat myself, but yes it spreads that far." She rolled her eyes and immediately regretted it, the action made the pain return. Like always, she deemed that she was right about her previous assumption.

"She bleeds." The voice possessed an exotic accent Zoe could not recognize, the only familiar sound was the way Viera spoke. Pause.

Was it not a Viera that had stopped her on the roof of the castle?

While she worked at freeing herself from the pile of stone on top of her, Zoe concluded that the other still blurry figure was the blond boy who was in a similar predicament as she. There was something familiar about his presence that made her want to repeatedly bash his head into a wall.

Not that she didn't want to do that to a lot of other people, Balthier being about three of the ones on her list.

"Am I supposed to be concerned for the well-being of women who go around punching me?" Balthier voiced his apparent dislike of Zoellyn, whose vision refocused in time to see Fran stare her partner down with mischief in her eyes.

"You were not so reluctant to assist me."

Vaan snickered and Zoe smirked to herself. A woman who could take charge, she appreciated that.

Balthier frowned at Fran, who then glared at him as if daring him to refuse her unspoken request.

Zoe watched the exchange with a grin on her lips as she finally freed herself, she silently cheered for Fran to lodge a stiletto into Balthier's head if he refused again. She flinched when she felt a hand touch her arm.

"Hey, are you alright?"

The response Vaan received was ironic: a boot to his adorable blonde head. Zoe pressed herself against the wall behind her and kept pushing as if she would pass through it by magic. She had no empathy for Vaan, who was currently counting the many stars swirling in front of his eyes.

She faintly heard a snort followed by quiet snickering from the other two. She smirked like the sadist she wished for people to see her as. Why did she want this you ask? What better way to keep them away then by making them think you were a sadist or insane? Or both?

Are either a lie though? That was a question that often echoed in her mind.

"Nice kick." Balthier commented, "Save it for the battlefield though, we wouldn't want our thief suffering more brain damage than he has already." Zoe's paranoia told her that Balthier obviously didn't care about the boy, and was just using this as a way to approach her with her guard down. Not too far from the truth though, as Fran had forced him to take action.

Zoe sprung to her feet, and attempted to distance herself by instinct. She reacted like a wild deer would to a hunter and forgot her migraine in her haste. She nearly fell over her former rock-prison when Balthier caught and steadied her. Vaan looked like he would act once he saw her boot catch the rock, but had apparently changed his mind, probably not wanting to risk getting kicked _anywhere else_ this time.

She cursed her migraine and glared at Balthier, who raised an eyebrow and threw what she deemed a lecherous look her way.

She responded again like a wild animal, this time an angry version of Bambi. She lifted her arm to slap him but he stopped her with no effort, she grew more frustrated and began bucking and screeching in his grip. This Lech would not come any closer to her!

Fortunately for Balthier, she possessed just about the same amount of strength as the aforementioned fawn.

However, casting Cure while holding her down was still a struggle. Balthier muttered a string of curses. "Would you calm down?! Gods woman, I'm trying to be civil and heal you!" Zoe growled and went to punch him.

"Oh really?! Well I'm not!" She swung again but missed. The sky pirate gritted his teeth in a rare show of frustration.

Fran watched them from the sidelines with a lidded gaze. She sighed and approached them in two elegant strides. They both froze in the poses they were caught in, Balthier holding both of Zoe's arms in the air whilst simultaneously holding her knee between his own to stop her from damaging his goods.

Fran glared at both, Fran's normal glare was the second scariest in all of Ivalice, topped by her glare when she was having her monthly female troubles.

She wasted no time and roughly pushed Balthier out of the way, he promptly fell into the sewer water, before she took his place in front of Zoe, who turned from a rabid wolf with the strength of a fawn to…just a fawn. A very frightened, wide-eyed fawn.

Fran examined her from head to toe, nodded to herself, and gazed at Balthier, who was muttering something that vaguely sounded like ''fool'' to Zoe's ears. Fran pressed a clawed hand to Zoe's forehead. Zoe flinched and squeezed her eyes shut, thinking that this would be her end; she cursed herself for being idiotic enough to cross a Viera.

Seeing the girl's apparent fear, Fran spoke, "You've no reason to fear me. You are no threat to me, so I wish you no harm." Zoe expected her to sound cold, bitter, hostile…like they all did when she behaved on impulse.

Her tone was anything but that. It sounded warm and almost…motherly.

And from that moment, a bond began to weave itself between the two, a bond akin more to a mother and daughter than teacher and student. Truly, Fran's endless patience for her antics had never ceased to impress Zoellyn, even to the present day.

Zoe bowed her head, feeling a blush of embarrassment warm her face. And like a child who had broken a brand new vase, she looked truly apologetic. "Thank you."

It was barely audible, but Fran had heard it, and her lips shifted into a smile.

Behind them Balthier and Vaan silently gaped at the exchange, both wondering how Fran had tamed the tiny terror.

Balthier shook his head. "Alright, alright, you're healed now so listen closely. Like I've said to Vaan here, we're all working together now so if you wish to see whatever dark hole you dwell in again you'd better do as I say." The sky pirate commanded. Fran stepped out of his line of sight and prepared herself to watch him fail again with amusement in her eyes.

It would be very long before Balthier understood that Zoe responded even less kindly to orders than he did.

The aforementioned black haired girl became expressionless. "No." She deadpanned. Balthier looked baffled for a moment. "Pardon? My dear I highly doubt you know your way out of these sewers, so I suggest your reconsider your answer to my, **_once again_** kind and civil, attempt to assist you," He scowled. "Even though you don't deserve it and I'd rather throw you to the fiends." He muttered, but she had heard him.

It was her turn to look surprised, more so at him proving his lecherous nature by calling her something so horribly _**inappropriate**_ as dear.

He smirked. This time she was spot on with her assumption, he indeed got a kick out of seeing her fume. "What's wrong _sweetheart_?" He emphasized every syllable in a maddeningly sweet tone. "No more witless comments?" He sneered. She gaped.

"You…you…!" She stammered. He threw a devilish grin, showing off his perfect teeth.

"I what, darling?" Zoellyn grew paler in horror at his every word.

"You perverted…sky pirate!"

Balthier rolled his eyes, the grin still present. He bit back quite a nasty comment imagining that Fran would kick him in the head for going so far.

"Yes, yes, love you're ever so eloquent." She glared at him, arms crossed and he continued. "Do try not to fall behind? We wouldn't want a sweet little thing like you getting lost." Apparently Vaan looked confused by his sudden ''care''. Zoe snorted in response.

The sky pirate went ahead of the party while Vaan stood up, wobbling a tad but regaining balance. His gaze remained on Zoellyn who stared back at him with no interest. Was he afraid she would attack him? Good. She felt good about that. If he feared her he wouldn't challenge her, somewhere in the back of her mind she was well aware that she wouldn't stand a chance. All of a sudden something familiar sparked in her mind.

It was him, she cursed herself for not realizing.

"You!" Vaan jumped at the sudden yell, nearly tumbling down the stairs. Zoe stood, teeth clenched, her hands in fists. "You were the one who nearly got me killed in the Estersand!" She snapped. Vaan felt a bead of sweat slide down his forehead. Fran just stood at the sidelines either not caring or not wanting to interfere…or maybe she was amused?

Oh Zoe would make him drink the sewer water this time, slime, dirt, and all. The blonde thief gulped and shimmied backwards on his hands. "H-hey look, I told you I was sorry! I didn't mean for you to get involved and...and I know you don't care for the apology…but could you please make an exception? Just this once!" She opened her mouth to tell him just how ridiculous and childish that statement was, but his expression stopped her. He was pouting, blue eyes wide and his hair tussled from the fall. All in all he looked like an adorable child, younger than he actually was. She shuddered and her lips trembled, threatening to form a smile. "F-fine." She muttered through clenched teeth. He beamed at her in relief and stood before skipping away to follow Balthier.

The black haired girl frowned and hung her head low at her ''weakness''. She looked to Fran who raised an eyebrow in response. Zoe instantly straightened her posture and looked away, embarrassed at coming off as weak in front of Fran.

The Viera shook her head and sashayed after her new party. Zoe sighed and trailed closely behind her.

This would be a long day for all of them.

* * *

><p><strong>AN I apologize for the delay, I was moving so I was without internet for a while. :) I do appreciate all the feedback ^_^ so, keep on reading, and reviewing if you wish :) Meaning of the chapter title is "The spark that started the fire" the title sounds like romance but it implies several things actually.**

**There are two references in here, one is quite obvious but the other is a quote think you can spot them? :D**


End file.
